This plant and its preparation have been in use since ancient times especially in the Ayurvedic medical system of India and in the folk medicine of China and Madagascar. The outstanding importance of the usage of this plant in the tradition medicine of India is implicated by its Indian name "Brahmi" which means 'bringing knowledge to the supreme reality" and it has long been used for its medicinal properties and as and aid to meditation. It is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the most important medicinal plant species to be conserved and cultivated. In Malaysia, although it has been used by our traditional healers in their herbal remedies, but its popularity is confined more as traditional vegetable or 'ulam' especially among the Malay communities rather than a medicinal plant.

Centella asiatica or the local name 'pegaga' grows wildly under a wide range of conditions, some races prefer light shade, while other do well in open sunny areas. Some even grow under more harch conditions like on stone walls. In the wild, most of these plant are found in wet or moist surroundings like swamps, along the margins of lakes, ponds and have also been seen growing in paddy fields.

Pegaga easily propagated asexually by using rhizomes/runners with at least 2 nodes. Although the plant can be grown in full sun but most of their races prefer at least light shade and moist soil. Growth is favored in sandy loam with high organic matter. Harvesting can be recommended after 60 days of planting. The whole plant is normally harvest when the reach full size.